Stubble burning: Govt to provide financial assistance for setting up torrefaction, pelletisation plants

Bhupender Yadav

The central government on Thursday said a one-time financial assistance will be given to individuals and companies to set up torrefaction and pelletisation plants to ensure a regular supply of paddy straw for co-firing in thermal power plants and industries. The setting up of these plants will help resolve the problem of stubble burning and generate income for farmers, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said at a workshop on "Guidelines for grant of one-time financial support for establishment of pelletisation and torrefaction plants to promote utilisation of paddy straw".

Along with unfavourable meteorological conditions, paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is a major reason behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November. Farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue before cultivating wheat and potato. According to government data, Punjab and Haryana generate around 27 million tonnes of paddy straw a year, of which around 6.4 million tonnes is not managed.

To address the issue of air pollution and to reduce the carbon footprint of thermal power plants and industries, the government had earlier mandated co-firing of 5 to 10 per cent of biomass along with coal. Though there is a demand for biomass by power plants, "the supply is on the lower side ... due to slow/limited growth of aggregators/suppliers", the government noted.

"Therefore, there is a need to facilitate setting up of pelletisation plants so that paddy straw is utilised and the issue of crop burning and pollution is further addressed," read the guidelines prepared by the Union Environment Ministry. Financial support of Rs 14 lakh per tonne per hour plant production capacity (subject to a maximum of Rs 70 lakh per proposal) will be given for setting up new pelletisation units, according to the guidelines.

Rs 28 lakh per tonne per hour plant production capacity will be provided for torrefaction plants, subject to a total financial support of Rs 1.4 crore per proposal. The government has earmarked Rs 50 crore for utilisation under the guidelines.

The financial assistance can be availed by individuals and companies setting up new plants and units using only paddy straw generated in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, and NCR districts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.